Tighter US emissions tests after VW affair

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday it would start testing cars under actual road conditions rather than only in the laboratory after revelations that millions of Volkswagen vehicles worldwide had been equipped with software allowing them to perform well in emission tests, but override pollution controls when on the road.

"Today we are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice that our testing is going to include additional evaluation and tests designed to look for potential defeat devices," said Chrisopher Grundler, the director of EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

Grundler said the agency would not be divulging the nature of the tests to automakers.

"They don't need to know," he said, adding that engineers had "come up with some clever ways" to outfox any manufacturers trying to cheat on the tests.

Easily cheated

Volkswagen had managed to dupe EPA testers for seven years before being found out by researchers at West Virginia University, leading to criticism that the agency's testing procedures were too lax .

The EPA has up to now only tested cars on treadmill-like devices called dynamometers. The software installed by VW enabled the on-board computer to detect when a vehicle was being tested and turn on pollution controls that reduced the output of nitrogen oxides, a major contributor to smog and pollution.

The EPA has defended its record, saying it had concentrated its efforts on heavy-duty trucks rather than diesel passenger cars, which account for barely 0.2 percent of vehicles on the road in the United States.

VW says that 11 million vehicles worldwide contain the defeat device.

The European Union is also to introduce road tests for vehicle emissions from January next year.

Lost trust

The disclosure of Volkswagen's manipulations has sent shockwaves through the auto industry. The German company is facing a potential $18 billion (16 billion euros) in US fines, and the scandal has cost the job of chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

In Germany, the parliamentary party of the Social Democrats (SPD), who form part of the ruling coalition, have called on Volkswagen to recall the 2.8 million vehicles that have been manipulated in the country and remove the offending software free of charge.

Deputy parliamentary party leader Sören Bartol said VW had to restore trust in the company.

In another blow to the company, which has seen a massive drop in its share price, Switzerland has put a temporary ban on the sale of VW models affected by the software manipulation.

The estimated 180,000 manipulated VW vehicles that are already in use on Switzerland's roads will not be affected by the ban, the Federal Roads Office said on Friday evening.

They include Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2013 with 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0-liter diesel motors, according to the office.

tj/sms (AFP, Reuters, AP)